Eye For Film >> Festivals >> Sundance >> 2009 >> World Cinema Documentary
This year's 16 films were selected from 744 submissions.
View other Sundance Film Festival Films by strand: Frontier, International Animated Shorts, International Documentary Shorts, International Dramatic Shorts, New Frontier Shorts, Park City at Midnight, Premieres, Spectrum: Documentary Spotlight, Spectrum: Dramatic Films, US Animated Shorts, US Documentary Competition, US Documentary Shorts, US Dramatic Competition, US Short Films, World Dramatic Competition
The Glass House and Burma VJ
211:Anna
(Country: Italy; Year: 2009; Director: Paolo Serbandini, Giovanna Massimetti)
World Premiere
The story of Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian journalist and human rights activist who risked her life to report the truth about the Chechen conflict and President Vladimir Putin.
Afghan Star
(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Havana Marking), Official Site
Four hopefuls compete to become pop idols in post-Taliban Afghanistan.
North American Premiere
Big River Man
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: John Maringouin; Stars: Matthew Mohlke, Borut Strel, Martin Strel), Official Site
A Slovenian endurance swimmer takes on the Amazon.
World Premiere
Burma VJ (Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land)
(Country: Denmark; Year: 2009; Director: Anders Ostergaard), Official Site, Trailer
Burmese journalists risk life imprisonment to report from inside their sealed-off country.
US Premiere
The End Of The Line
(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Rupert Murray), Official Site, Trailer
The devastating effect global overfishing is having on fish stocks and the health of our oceans.
World Premiere
Nollywood Babylon and Rough Aunties
The Glass House
(Country: US, Iran; Year: 2009; Director: Hamid Rahmanian), Official Site
Four teenagers attempt to overcome their problems at a day centre in Tehran.
North American Premiere
Kimjongilia
(Country: US, France; Year: 2009; Director: NC Heikin; Writer: NC Heikin; Stars: Lee Shin, Choi Young Hun, Kang Chol Hwan)
World Premiere
Defectors from North Korea speak out about the terrifying reality of their lives - and escapes.
Let's Make Money
(Country: Austria, China, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, US; Year: 2008; Director: Erwin Wagenhofer; Writer: Erwin Wagenhofer; Stars: Antonio Baena Perez, George Belton, John Christensen, Yves Delisle, Ramón Fernandéz Durán, Joseph James, Antonio Jinanez, Kalvilselven, Francis Kologo, Animata Kompaore)
World Premiere
From the factories of India, to financial markets in Singapore, to massive housing developments in Spain and offshore banks in Jersey, this documentary reveals complex and shocking workings of global money flow.
Nollywood Babylon
(Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Ben Addelman, Samir Mallal; Writer: Ben Addelman, Samir Mallal; Stars: Osita Iheme, Chinedu Ikedieze, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Uche Jumbo, Kenneth Okonkwo, Bob-Manuel Udokwu)
Welcome to the wacky world of Nollywood, Nigeria's bustling home-grown movie industry.
US Premiere
Old Partner (Wonangsori)
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2008; Director: Lee Chung-ryoul; Stars: Won-gyoon Choi, Sam-soon Lee)
Documentary about an elderly farmer, his wife and their loyal ox.
North American Premiere
Old Partner and Big River Man
Prom Night In Mississippi
(Country: Canada; Year: 2009; Director: Paul Saltzman)
World Premiere
When a small-town Mississippi high school resolves to hold its first integrated senior prom, strong emotions fly and traditions are challenged to their core.
The Queen And I (Drottningen Och Jag)
(Country: Sweden; Year: 2009; Director: Nahid Persson Sarvestani)
World Premiere
Swedish filmmaker Sarvestani, an Iranian exile who helped overthrow the Shah's regime in 1979, confronts her own assumptions and complex truths about Iran when she enters the life of the Shah's widow.
Quest For Honor
(Country: Kurdistan, US; Year: 2009; Director: Mary Ann Bruni)
World Premiere
A former teacher and tireless activist works with local lawmen, Kurdish government agencies and her colleagues to investigate and eradicate honor killings in the tribal regions of Kurdistan.
Rough Aunties
(Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Kim Longinotto), Official Site
A documentary looking at a women's organisation dedicated to rescuing abused children.
North American Premiere
Thriller In Manila
(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: John Dower)
North American Premiere
Joe Frazier tells his side of the story of his legendary fight against Muhammad Ali.
Afghan Star and The End Of The Line
Tibet In Song
(Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Ngawang Choephel)
World Premiere
Through the story of Tibetan music, this film depicts the determined efforts of Tibetan people, both in Tibet and in exile, to preserve their unique cultural identity. Choephel served six years of an 18-year prison sentence for filming in Tibet.
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
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